Electrical Engineer Apprentice Review

With the Network Rail apprenticeship my first year was as a student gaining NVQ and Btec qualifications. In the second and third years there is a lot of on the job learning where you go out on the job and gain knowledge through completion of the real day to day work you will be doing once you have passed out of the scheme. The roles I undertake include testing equipment and the electricity within the company and also maintain plant equipment.

I'm always improving and gaining skills on the job. There are lots of different pieces of equipment we use and each of these is a skill to use, such as measuring resistance, current and voltage of circuits; or even using equipment to test RCD's. You gain a lot of skill wiring equipment too which becomes useful inside and outside of work.

I thoroughly enjoy the scheme and from it I am gaining not just experience as an employee of the company but I've also gained an entire new set of friends. In the first year of this scheme we lived and trained in Network Rail's training centre in Hampshire where you meet a lot of new people. Spending a lot of time and having fun with these people with opportunities of doing enjoyable activities courtesy of Network Rail. So on the whole the scheme is very enjoyable.

As an apprentice I do feel valued by Network Rail and they do this by showing just how much dedication goes into their apprenticeship scheme to make it as good as they can. I know that if there is any ever concern or worry that you have about anything then there is someone always willing to talk to you about the issues you are having so this especially give me a feeling of being a valued member of the company.

The programme is considerably well structured and all the details of it are laid out to you from the beginning. For the second and third years you are to re-attend the training facilities in Hampshire to complete further qualifications. Every few months you will go back and complete a course that can last a few weeks where your new skills are tested and checked out for competency. The deadlines for any work you are given are easily found out if you can not remember with a simple email.

If you have any concerns then the training providers are always able to give you help when you need it.

If there is anything I need then I know that asking my manager he will try and help me with it the best he can.

The pay is good and you will be able to get a chance for overtime pay in your second and third years to boost the pay for the month by quite a lot.

You can use your skills outside of work to help your friends and family with the work that they need such as wiring them an outside light or something similar so the skills you gain from this are very helpful

Yes

The scheme offers so much potential to you and gives you important skills for life. It can help boost anyones confidence as there is a leadership qualification where you gain skills on how best to manage people which can be helpful for your future in the company.

Be honest and be confident in your ability. When applying the questions you get asked are a test to see if you will be suitable for the company based on skills you are expected to have. When filling in the application don't be afraid to put yourself across as an important person that the company could really use.